First Choice Women’s Resource Centers, Inc. v. Davenport · ¶55

Third, our cases have already rejected the notion that a litigant must exhaust available state court remedies before seeking to vindicate its federal constitutional rights in federal court under § 1983. Knick, 588 U. S., at 185. Section 1983 guarantees a federal forum for plaintiffs who claim unconstitutional treatment at the hands of state officials. Requiring plaintiffs to exhaust state court remedies before they may avail themselves of § 1983's promise, we have said, would “hollow” out the statute. Ibid. Such a rule, too, would threaten litigants with a “preclusion trap.” Ibid. Under it, a plaintiff who goes to state court and loses would find its claim forever barred in federal court under principles of res judicata. In that way, § 1983's promise of a federal forum would “di[e] aborning.” Ibid.

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